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Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Hindus feeling more insecure by the minute

Source: The Dhaka Tribune


Many of the over hundred families living in the area have sent their women and children to the houses of their relatives in the neighbouring villages

 
  • Members of Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council form a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday protesting against violence Photo- Rajib Dhar
It has been more than 24 hours in which 62-year old Harendra Nath Roy, caretaker of the Parapukur Shamshan Mandir in Patgram village in Lalmonirhat district, has not said a word. Instead, he has been crying incessantly since Monday night.
Nobody knows what happened to him. The only thing they know is that Harendra was kept confined to his house inside the temple from 9pm-11pm on Monday night, allegedly by a group of 20-25 Jamaat-Shibir men.
Local residents said the confinement of Harendra was just a continuation of the two previous rounds of assault by Jamaat-Shibir men on the local Hindus on October 27 and January 4.
The elderly caretaker of the temple could easily be one of the very few Hindu adults available in the area because the rest have mostly fled their homes after being attacked  as threats escalated, especially in the few days before the January 5 elections.
Many of those, who are still in the area, go to the houses of their Muslim acquaintances to stay over for the night. They only come back home during the daytime. Many of the over one hundred families living in the area have sent their women and children to the houses of their relatives in the neighbouring villages.
Even if they gather the courage to come back to their homes during daytime, none from the community dares to tread anywhere near the Shafinagar village market. The market has been under the control of BNP-Jamaat men following a clash with Awami League men on the eve of the election day in which two BNP men were killed.
Shefali Rani Sen, 38, a resident of the Hindu-dominated Senpara area has been living in one of her relatives’ house in the neighbouring village with her two teenage sons since Sunday’s polls. Her husband has fled home after the polls fearing attack by Jamaat-Shibir men.
“No Hindu was involved with the clash that took place on January 4. But it is always us [the Hindus] who the Jamaat-Shibir men target,” Shefali said.
Local Union Parishad Member Anil Chandra Sen said he too had not been living at home since the polls, and that he had already informed police about their predicament.
Amiruzzaman, OC of the Patgram police station, said the joint forces had been patrolling the villages since before the polls to resist terror by Jamaat-Shibir and BNP men. Additional police remain stationed in the area, especially during night. “The local Hindus panic because they do not see the patrolling law enforcers because of the dense fog.”
Gaibandha
On Monday night, a group of miscreants, all allegedly BNP-Jamaat men, vandalised and torched the house of a Hindu family and five shops, all owned by Hindus, in the Beradanga Bazaar area in Gaibandha. The attack left a Hindu men seriously injured.
Two men, including BNP leader and local UP Chairman Rafiqul Islam Sarker Tara, were injured in the clash that ensued after local Awami League men counterattacked.
Admitted to separate hospitals in the district, their conditions were stated to be critical.
Sources said the opposition men attacked the houses of Noni Gopal Karmakar and Naresh Karmakar around 7pm on Monday because they went to cast votes in Sunday’s elections, defying threats.
Yesterday morning, leaders and activists of the local unit Awami League, and its youth front Jubo league, made a counterattack against the BNP-Jamaat men, leaving the UP chairman injured.
The entire locality has been gripped by panic since the skirmishes, as the local BNP-Jamaat men brought out a procession protesting the counterattack by the ruling party men. 

Many of the over hundred families living in the area have sent their women and children to the houses of their relatives in the neighbouring villages

  • Members of Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council form a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday protesting against violence 
    Photo- Rajib Dhar
It has been more than 24 hours in which 62-year old Harendra Nath Roy, caretaker of the Parapukur Shamshan Mandir in Patgram village in Lalmonirhat district, has not said a word. Instead, he has been crying incessantly since Monday night.
Nobody knows what happened to him. The only thing they know is that Harendra was kept confined to his house inside the temple from 9pm-11pm on Monday night, allegedly by a group of 20-25 Jamaat-Shibir men.
Local residents said the confinement of Harendra was just a continuation of the two previous rounds of assault by Jamaat-Shibir men on the local Hindus on October 27 and January 4.
The elderly caretaker of the temple could easily be one of the very few Hindu adults available in the area because the rest have mostly fled their homes after being attacked  as threats escalated, especially in the few days before the January 5 elections.
Many of those, who are still in the area, go to the houses of their Muslim acquaintances to stay over for the night. They only come back home during the daytime. Many of the over one hundred families living in the area have sent their women and children to the houses of their relatives in the neighbouring villages.
Even if they gather the courage to come back to their homes during daytime, none from the community dares to tread anywhere near the Shafinagar village market. The market has been under the control of BNP-Jamaat men following a clash with Awami League men on the eve of the election day in which two BNP men were killed.
Shefali Rani Sen, 38, a resident of the Hindu-dominated Senpara area has been living in one of her relatives’ house in the neighbouring village with her two teenage sons since Sunday’s polls. Her husband has fled home after the polls fearing attack by Jamaat-Shibir men.
“No Hindu was involved with the clash that took place on January 4. But it is always us [the Hindus] who the Jamaat-Shibir men target,” Shefali said.
Local Union Parishad Member Anil Chandra Sen said he too had not been living at home since the polls, and that he had already informed police about their predicament.
Amiruzzaman, OC of the Patgram police station, said the joint forces had been patrolling the villages since before the polls to resist terror by Jamaat-Shibir and BNP men. Additional police remain stationed in the area, especially during night. “The local Hindus panic because they do not see the patrolling law enforcers because of the dense fog.”
Gaibandha
On Monday night, a group of miscreants, all allegedly BNP-Jamaat men, vandalised and torched the house of a Hindu family and five shops, all owned by Hindus, in the Beradanga Bazaar area in Gaibandha. The attack left a Hindu men seriously injured.
Two men, including BNP leader and local UP Chairman Rafiqul Islam Sarker Tara, were injured in the clash that ensued after local Awami League men counterattacked.
Admitted to separate hospitals in the district, their conditions were stated to be critical.
Sources said the opposition men attacked the houses of Noni Gopal Karmakar and Naresh Karmakar around 7pm on Monday because they went to cast votes in Sunday’s elections, defying threats.
Yesterday morning, leaders and activists of the local unit Awami League, and its youth front Jubo league, made a counterattack against the BNP-Jamaat men, leaving the UP chairman injured.
The entire locality has been gripped by panic since the skirmishes, as the local BNP-Jamaat men brought out a procession protesting the counterattack by the ruling party men. 
- See more at: http://www.dhakatribune.com/law-amp-rights/2014/jan/08/hindus-feeling-more-insecure-minute#sthash.QtM5Y9hA.dpuf

Many of the over hundred families living in the area have sent their women and children to the houses of their relatives in the neighbouring villages

  • Members of Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council form a human chain in front of the National Press Club yesterday protesting against violence 
    Photo- Rajib Dhar
It has been more than 24 hours in which 62-year old Harendra Nath Roy, caretaker of the Parapukur Shamshan Mandir in Patgram village in Lalmonirhat district, has not said a word. Instead, he has been crying incessantly since Monday night.
Nobody knows what happened to him. The only thing they know is that Harendra was kept confined to his house inside the temple from 9pm-11pm on Monday night, allegedly by a group of 20-25 Jamaat-Shibir men.
Local residents said the confinement of Harendra was just a continuation of the two previous rounds of assault by Jamaat-Shibir men on the local Hindus on October 27 and January 4.
The elderly caretaker of the temple could easily be one of the very few Hindu adults available in the area because the rest have mostly fled their homes after being attacked  as threats escalated, especially in the few days before the January 5 elections.
Many of those, who are still in the area, go to the houses of their Muslim acquaintances to stay over for the night. They only come back home during the daytime. Many of the over one hundred families living in the area have sent their women and children to the houses of their relatives in the neighbouring villages.
Even if they gather the courage to come back to their homes during daytime, none from the community dares to tread anywhere near the Shafinagar village market. The market has been under the control of BNP-Jamaat men following a clash with Awami League men on the eve of the election day in which two BNP men were killed.
Shefali Rani Sen, 38, a resident of the Hindu-dominated Senpara area has been living in one of her relatives’ house in the neighbouring village with her two teenage sons since Sunday’s polls. Her husband has fled home after the polls fearing attack by Jamaat-Shibir men.
“No Hindu was involved with the clash that took place on January 4. But it is always us [the Hindus] who the Jamaat-Shibir men target,” Shefali said.
Local Union Parishad Member Anil Chandra Sen said he too had not been living at home since the polls, and that he had already informed police about their predicament.
Amiruzzaman, OC of the Patgram police station, said the joint forces had been patrolling the villages since before the polls to resist terror by Jamaat-Shibir and BNP men. Additional police remain stationed in the area, especially during night. “The local Hindus panic because they do not see the patrolling law enforcers because of the dense fog.”
Gaibandha
On Monday night, a group of miscreants, all allegedly BNP-Jamaat men, vandalised and torched the house of a Hindu family and five shops, all owned by Hindus, in the Beradanga Bazaar area in Gaibandha. The attack left a Hindu men seriously injured.
Two men, including BNP leader and local UP Chairman Rafiqul Islam Sarker Tara, were injured in the clash that ensued after local Awami League men counterattacked.
Admitted to separate hospitals in the district, their conditions were stated to be critical.
Sources said the opposition men attacked the houses of Noni Gopal Karmakar and Naresh Karmakar around 7pm on Monday because they went to cast votes in Sunday’s elections, defying threats.
Yesterday morning, leaders and activists of the local unit Awami League, and its youth front Jubo league, made a counterattack against the BNP-Jamaat men, leaving the UP chairman injured.
The entire locality has been gripped by panic since the skirmishes, as the local BNP-Jamaat men brought out a procession protesting the counterattack by the ruling party men. 
- See more at: http://www.dhakatribune.com/law-amp-rights/2014/jan/08/hindus-feeling-more-insecure-minute#sthash.QtM5Y9hA.dpuf

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